A Moment In Time
by shoppingal87
Summary: A SpinnerPaige fanfic. Spinner is serious about their relationship,but Paige seems to be pulling away. He needs to figure out why to save their relationship. Longer summary inside.
1. Author's Note

Author's Note:

This is my first fan fiction ever so I'm sorry if it's horrible. I probably should've started writing it a few weeks ago instead of waiting until two days before school starts, but I'll still have time to update. I'm not sure how long it's going to be yet because I don't have the whole thing written, it's mostly just in my head. I don't even know if anyone would be interested in reading this story, so I'll give a little summary and let me know. Now we just have to hope I can figure out how to upload the story onto ! Also, the title may change once I put up the first chapter.

Summary:

Take places right before season four. Paige and Spinner have been going out for a while, when suddenly things start to change. Spinner wants to take their relationship more seriously, while Paige wants some space. She doesn't give a reason and insists that she still loves him, but she has been acting weird at school and not wanting to go on dates or even just hang out with friends. Can Spinner figure out what's wrong and find a way to help her so he can save their relationship?


	2. A New Day, A New Face

Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi or any of the Degrassi characters. I only own the new girl in the story, Kayleigh.

Author's Note: Please review if you like it or don't like so I know what I'm doing right or wrong. I'm open to ideas and suggestions for the story! Sorry if the margins are also messed up, we're having trouble with Microsoft Word lately, so when I notice that they're off, I'll edit to fix them if I can. And let me know if you think the chapters are too long or too short. And I'm good at writing essays and stuff for school but I've never really written things with dialogue. According to grammar check, everything's okay, but if you notice something I could fix, you can let me know. Thanks! ï The main focus of the story is Paige and Spinner, but to make this fanfic longer, I also added in other characters and other situations, so it may seem confusing at first as to why some thing are in there, but at the end it'll all make sense. Even though the fanfic is mainly Spinner and Paige, some chapters don't fully focus on them, but towards the end they will.

Chapter One 

Walking into Degrassi Community School, Hazel, Jimmy and Paige are seen talking.

"Hey honeybee!" Paige exclaimed as Spinner walked over to join them.

"Hello Sweet Potato!" Spinner replied while he walked over to give her a kiss.

"Ugh, stop with the mushy nicknames!" whined Jimmy.

Paige shot him a look and then laughed. "Come on Hazel, we've gotta get to class now anyway. See you both later!"

They walked into the building and headed to class, leaving the guys outside to talk.

"Dude I wish it was Friday."

"Only one more day man. Do you have plans with Paige this weekend?"

"Yea, but it's a surprise so don't tell her. She knows we're going out to dinner, but I didn't tell her that we were going to _Chateau La Mer_.

Jimmy's eyes widened, "Woah, that place is expensive. What's the occasion?"

"I know, but she's always wanted to eat in a fancy French restaurant and it's our 18 month anniversary tomorrow."

"Aww, hot cute!" Jimmy said in a mock girly voice.

"That's not all though, I bought her a really pretty necklace that I know she's been wanting for a while."

Jimmy added jokingly, "She really has you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?!"

"Hey just wait until Hazel wants you to take her somewhere fancy, I bet you'll be the first one to do whatever you can to please her."

"Eh, I guess. Anyway, have fun!"

Spinner grinned with a strange look in his eyes, "Oh, don't worry, we will."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Dude, tomorrow's the night!"

"What night?"  
"THE night, ya know. We're finally gonna do it."

"Has Paige agreed to this?"

"Well, she doesn't know yet, but she's been hinting that she's ready."

"Yea, well you'd better be careful or the whole thing will blow up in your face."

"Whatever, just don't say anything to her about it, ok?"

"Alright."

_Bell rings_

"See ya later."

"Yea, later dude."

Cafeteria-Spinner and Jimmy are waiting on the lunch line for their food, while Paige and Hazel are talking at their regular lunch table. They had also invited Ashley and Ellie to eat with them that day.

"Who's that girl?" Hazel asked.

"What girl?" Paige replied.

Ellie jumped into the conversation, "The one sitting at that table over there, eating all alone. She must be new; I've never seen her around before."

"Maybe we should invite her to eat with us," Ashley suggested.

"I don't know," Paige wondered out loud, "How about we wait until tomorrow and if she's still alone, then we'll ask her to come over."

"Alright." The others agreed.

They sat there for a moment looking in her direction. "She looks pretty cool." Ellie decided.

"Hey Paige, we need another person for the Spirit Squad since Melanie broke her leg. She looks like she might be good, why don't you ask her to try out?" Hazel said, trying to help.

"Yea, maybe. Not right now, we're eating, I'll find time to talk to her later."

They sat there, just thinking until Paige broke the silence.

"So, Haze, what are you and Jimmy doing this weekend?"

"I don't know, nothing much. He has basketball practice Saturday morning and then a game Saturday night. We barely get to spend time together anymore."

"At least you have a boyfriend!" Ashley said, stating her opinion.

"Don't worry Ash, I'm sure you'll find someone soon." "And if not, then I may have to do some matchmaking!"

"Paige, when have you ever made a match that actually lasted?"

"Well... there's a first time for everything!" The others just looked at her doubtfully.

"And speaking of first times," Paige continued, "Spinner and I might have our first time this weekend."

"First time for...." Ellie started.

"Uh-huh," Paige interrupted, "It's our 18 month anniversary so I know he must have something nice planned for me, so I thought I'd do something nice for him in addition to the gift."

Ashley began, "Are you sure you're ready? After the whole Dean thing?"

"I'm so over that, the trial isn't for a while so I won't be thinking about that yet, and besides I love Spinner. But don't tell him, I want it to be a surprise"

Just then the guys came over to join them.

"Hey, did I hear my name?" Spinner questioned.

"Yes, we were just wondering which one of you could eat the most spray cheese in one minute and I bet you could." Ashley stated.

Hazel gave her a look, as if to say 'Why would we be talking about that?'

But the guys didn't seem to notice; they just laughed and started complaining about Ms. Kwan's big test later that day.

A few minutes later the bell rang, and the gang headed off to their classes. Paige entered the media immersion lab.

Mr. Simpson began, "Okay class, today we have a new student. Her name is Kayleigh McCann and she just moved here from New York." "Kayleigh, is there anything you'd like to say about yourself?"

"Um...well I guess you already know my name and where I'm from so there's not much to say, but I'm hoping to really like going to Degrassi. My cousins used to go here and I've heard so many good things, so I hope I like it too."

"Okay, thanks Kayleigh. Why don't you sit down next to Paige."

Kayleigh scanned the room for someone to wave and show her where to sit. Finally a girl with long blonde hair raised her hand and Kayleigh headed toward her direction. As she was walking to her seat, she saw Paige look her up and down as if she were judging her clothes, her hair, and even the way she walked. At first Kayleigh felt intimidated, but then she realized that she looked the best she could and she actually felt pretty confident for once.

"Alright guys, if you look at the screen....." Mr. Simpson continued.

As soon as she sat down Paige said, "Hi, I'm Paige." "Nice to meet you, I'm Kayleigh."

"So, you're from New York? That is so cool! They have the best shopping there!"

"Yea, I lived on Long Island so it was only a 45 minutes train ride into Manhattan so we went a lot. That's one thing I'll really miss about home, but we'll still go back sometimes and my grandparents still live there so we'll have to visit them."

"Oh ok. Do you do any kind of cheerleading, dance, or gymnastics?"

"Um...well I'm not too good....but I used to do Irish Step Dancing. And now I'm taking jazz and tap. I've only done a little gymnastics, but never cheerleading."

"Alright, well I'm head cheerleader, but here we call it 'Spirit Squad.' Anyway, one of our main girls broke her leg so I was wondering if you'd like to try out to fill in for her for the rest of the season."

"I don't know, where I came from, cheerleaders were pretty stereotypical and not very nice. I just don't know if I'd fit in with you guys. I mean, I do want to make friends and you don't seem mean or anything, but...."  
"Just give it a try, I bet it'll be fun; all the girls in school will envy you and want to be your friend. And it's not a bad way to meet guys either!" Paige said, giggling.

"Alright," Kayeligh said reluctantly. She didn't want to lose the hope of becoming Paige's friend since she was the first person who had actually talked to her all day, aside from the teachers.

At the end of class, Paige told Kayleigh to meet them after school the next day in the gym. Kayleigh thought, 'Maybe this won't be so bad after all. Today actually went pretty well.'


	3. The Anniversary

Thank youso much to both of you who reviewed! I'm not really sure if anyone else likes this, but this is the last filler-ish chapter and the next one should be good. I just realized that in the past two chapters, I probably haven't kept all the verbs in the same tense, yea, I'm kinda bad at that sometimes lol. But it shouldn't take away from the understanding of the story or anything. Ooh and I wanted to ask if you think I've been making Paige too nice. My sister reads over the chapters and lets me know what she thinks and that was her comment.

Paige was driving to Spinner's house to pick him up for school. On a typical day he'd be running late and she'd have to sit in the car and wait for him to grab his books and a pop tart. But

today, much to Paige's surprise, he was standing on the porch waiting for her.

"Hey, you're early! What's the occasion?"

He slid into the passenger seat, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"I couldn't wait to give you this," he said, handing her a small box, wrapped in shiny purple paper.

"Oh Spin! You even wrapped it yourself!"

"Open it!" he urged, excitedly.

Paige opened the box and saw a silver necklace with a heart on it. The heart had three diamonds on it that glistened as it moved in the morning sunlight. There were also matching earrings.

"Aww, Spin, it's beautiful! And it's exactly the one I've been wanting. How did you know?"

"Hey, I'm your boyfriend, I just knew. Well, that and the fact that you point it out every time we pass the jewelry window."

Paige teasingly hit his arm and laughed.

"So you like it...?" Spinner asked.

"I absolutely love it! Honeybee, you're the best; thank you!"

"Here let me put it on for you."

Paige lifted her air as Spinner fastened the clasp around her neck.

"I have something for you too Spin."

She leaned into the backseat and grabbed a box wrapped in basketball paper.

"Okay, so it's not the most romantic paper, but I know you like basketball," Paige joked as she handed him the box.

Spinner opened the box and found a brand new 'Triple 5 Soul' sweatshirt.

"Paige, this is awesome!"

"Yea, well I was tired of seeing you wear the same old sweatshirt each week!" she said jokingly.

"I knew you wanted a new one," Paige explained further, "so I hope you like the one I chose."

"Yea, it's great, especially since it came from you."

"See Spin, people never get to see this side of you, but I think it's sweet." Paige said, as she glanced at the clock. "Oops, we're gonna be late, we'd better get going."

At Degrassi after school in the gym:

"Hazel, Manny," Paige began, looking at each of them as she said their name, "this is Kayleigh. The one who I was telling you about."

"Oh, hey Kayleigh!"

"Hi Kayleigh, I'm Manny."

"Hi." Kayleigh replied timidly.

"Okay, so Kay, what can you do?" Paige began.

"Umm.... well I don't know. What do you want me to do?"

"How about we start with a somersault, nice and simple!" Manny suggested.

"Fine." Kayleigh said, sounding a little more confident.

Kayleigh somersaulted well, since she and her little brother and sister had been doing them all through the house since they were young.

"Alright, now do a cartwheel." Hazel said.

Kayleigh nailed the cartwheel too.

She smiled and then spoke, "That's pretty much all I can do, I mean like maybe a handstand...but how often is that used in cheer routines?"

"Not often." Paige stated, smiling.

She turned to Kayleigh, "Just give us a minute. Why don't you wait over there."

Paige then turned back to Manny and Hazel.

"So, what do you guys think?"

"She's not bad, she can learn the cheers easily too." Hazel commented.

Manny agreed, "We only have a week until the next big game. Where else would we find someone?"

"Ok," Paige declared, "It's settled, she's in!"

"But Paige..." Hazel started.

"Yea?"

"Why are you being so nice to her? What happened to your usual Paige attitude?"

Paige shrugged. "I don't have an attitude, I'm just honest."

"Kay!" she called across the gym, Congrats, you're in!"

Kayleigh smiled, pleased with herself for taking the opportunity to make friends and try something new. 'Maybe I'll even end up liking this.' She thought to herself.

"Hey, how about we go out for ice cream? I've been dying for some all day." Manny said.

"Sounds good!" Kayleigh said excitedly.

"Fine by me." Hazel added.

"Alright," Paige eventually agreed, "But I can't stay too long. I have that big date with Spinner tonight."

At the ice cream shop:

"So, fill Kayleigh in about you and Spinner!" Manny said, and they all giggled.

"There's not much to tell." Paige insisted.

"But what about your plans for tonight!" Hazel reminded her.

"He's your boyfriend, right?" Kayleigh questioned.

"Yea." Paige answered simply.

"I wouldn't forget that, it's an odd name. I'm sure there's a story behind it."

"Yea, nothing big. I'll tell you when I have a chance. Right now I want to inform you of my plans for tonight!"

"Ooh ok." Kayeligh said slightly unsure, but she was excited to be included in the gossip.

"Well, Spin and I have been going out for 18 months now, so I think it's time for us to...ya know...."

From the look on Kayleigh's face, Paige could see she clearly didn't know.

"Have sex." Paige finished.

Kayleigh gasped, "But...but you're only 16!"

"Yea well, we're not all prude virgins who are waiting until marriage." Paige shot back.

Kayleigh felt slightly hurt, but just said "Oh ok. Have fun then."

"Thanks." Paige said, smiling again, "Yea, I'd better get going now, I have to get ready and I don't want to be late! Well, not too late....but I do have to be fashionably late!"

"See you Monday guys!" she called on her way out the door.

The other three girls finished their ice cream, and then headed their separate ways.


	4. Mixed Emotions

Again, thank you so much to people who reviewed! I always doubt whether I'm it's good or not, so the reviews really help! :)

Spinner's car, after dinner:

"I can't believe you took me to _Chateau La Mer!_" Paige exclaimed.

"I told you you'd enjoy the surprise." Spinner said, grinning.

"Yea, well I have a surprise for you too." Paige said, smiling mysteriously.

"Really? When will I find out?"

"Oh, when we get back to my house. My parents are away this weekend and Dylan's staying at a friend's house, so we have the house to ourselves."

"Sounds great!" he said, winking.

"What are you implying honeybee?" Paige asked, flirtatiously.

"Nothing." Spinner replied, still smiling.

He switched the radio on and started to drive. They were both pretty quiet during the car ride, each thinking about their feelings.

Spinner was considering if they were really ready to take the next step, but he knew he loved Paige and would do anything to show her that.

Meanwhile, Paige wasn't quite so sure. 'I love him and he loves me,' she thought to herself, 'I need to do this to prove that I can. I can't let Dean hold me back forever.'

Once they got to her house, Spinner jumped out of the car and opened the door for Paige. She gave him a weird look and thought 'what was that for?' but out loud she just said "Merci Monsieur!"

When they got inside they went straight up to Paige's room. At first it was a little awkward, but they soon relaxed.

Paige was laying face up on the bed, with Spinner leaning over her and they started to kiss. As Spinner's hands rested on her shoulders, she suddenly got a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. She remembered who she was with the last time she had been in this position.

"Spinner, stop!" Paige said frantically.

He lifted himself up slightly and looked confused. She pushed him off and got off the bed saying "I- I can't- I can't do this!"

"Paige-" he started.

"Spin, go home please."

"But-"

"No, please. I can't, I'm not ready. I thought I was, but I'm not."

He stood there looking at her, not knowing what to say.

"It's ok, I..."

"No it's not, it's not okay Spinner!"  
Her heart was beating fast and she was having trouble breathing. Her arms felt numb and she began to feel dizzy.

She ran into the adjoining bathroom, locked the door and started crying. Spinner knocked on the door several times and tried to get her to come out, but she wouldn't move.

"Just leave me alone!" Paige shouted.

Reluctantly Spinner went home and decided he'd give her some time to calm and down and call her in the morning.

She heard him leave, closed her eyes and counted to 10, while trying to relax.

A half hour later, Paige threw on her pajamas and went to bed. She lay awake in bed until nearly 3am thinking about how she had really messed up their night. 'How can I still let Dean bother me? Why can't I move on? What happened when Spinner touched me? Why did I freak out?'

She eventually became overwhelmed by the thoughts and was so exhausted she fell asleep.

Paige ignored Spinner's phone calls all weekend. Dylan questioned her, but Paige just lied and said she had too much homework. Of course, Dylan didn't buy that excuse.

"You wanna know the truth?" she asked him, "Fine. Spinner and I had a fight and I don't feel like talking to him, so just drop it okay?!" she said angrily.

Sunday night as she was trying to fall asleep, thoughts were running through her head, keeping her awake. 'How can I face Spinner at school tomorrow?' 'What will he tell everyone about what happened?' 'What will I say we did?' 'I so wish I didn't have to deal with this right now.'

While still worrying about her friends' reactions she fell asleep.


	5. Facing the Truth

**_Okay, I know I haven't updated in a while, but I'm not sure how well I'm doing with this story. A few people like it, but not many. And I'm not sure where it should go, plus I've been busy with school and now this week I'm probably starting a job. I have the next two chapters written already, I just haven't had time to put them up. So I'll put up one now and hopefully one tomorrow or later in the week. This is also the first chapter I'm posting without having my sister look over it first because she's been busy too. But if even one person likes this I'll continue because I always get hooked on fan fictions that never ended because people stopped writing after a few chapters so I want to continue until the end with this one hopefully!_**

It was a bright sunny day in Toronto. As Paige turned the corner onto Degrassi Street, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and said to herself, "Okay, you can do this. Today will be fabulous and by tomorrow no one will care what we did over the weekend."

She continued walking towards the main entrance of Degrassi Community School, squinting to see because the sun was in her eyes. Of course she had sunglasses, ones that matched her outfit perfectly in fact, but she had them resting on her head, holding her hair back since she decided it looked more fashionable. Walking with her head down, just before she reached the school steps she bumped into someone.

Paige nonchalantly said, "Oops, sorry, it's hard to see with the sun in my eyes."

She turned and began to head up the steps as the other person spoke.

"It's okay Paige." He said simply, knowing they didn't have enough time to talk about Friday night before homeroom started.

She recognized the voice right away. "Spinner?" she asked, now turning and looking up to see him.

"Hey," he said "I gotta get to homeroom, see you later."

He wanted to ask if she was alright and admit he was a bit worried all weekend, but he couldn't help being a little annoyed that she hadn't given him an explanation or even returned his calls.

"Right," she said uncomfortably "See you later."

"Hey Paige!" Hazel called as she and Kayleigh walked over, "How was Friday?" she asked smiling.

Paige thought for a moment and then smiled and casually said, "It was great!"

Kayleigh spoke next, "What do you mean by that?"

"None of your business, I've said all I'm going to say." Paige answered in a joking way.

"You're really gonna stay tight-lipped about this?" Hazel questioned.

"Yea," she replied, "We'd better get to class."

The three of them headed to Ms. Kwan's homeroom. As they walked into class, Paige saw Spinner across the room talking to Jimmy and Marco. She got a weird feeling, then looked away and went back to talking with her friends. The morning seemed to go pretty fast and by lunch Paige was feeling better.

She carried her lunch tray over to the usual table and sat down. "Hey Ash."

"Hey Paige." Ashley responded.

Just then Kayleigh and Hazel walked over and sat down.

"So, did you find out any more details from her about Friday night than we did Ashley?" Hazel asked.

Ashley looked a little confused.

"Why do we have to keep talking about this?! I said I'm not sharing details!" Paige stated.

"But...Spinner said..." Ashley started, "he said that you guys fought and nothing happened."

"Well, I...umm...." Paige said, blushing "He's right I guess."

"So you lied?" Hazel said surprised, "Why?"

"Maybe we should just change the topic." Kayleigh suggested, trying to protect everyone's feelings.

"I - I have to go." Paige said as she got up and left the cafeteria.

Later that day Kayleigh saw Paige at her locker. She wasn't sure if she should go over, but she figured it couldn't hurt. At her old school she wasn't an outcast, but she wasn't friends with anyone popular and she didn't want to lose her new friend and her newfound popularity.

She walked over and said hi.

Paige didn't know Kayleigh well enough to be sure if she was sincere or if she just wanted to tease her about lying, so she said nothing.

Kayleigh continued, "I have to get to class, but I just wanted to see if you were okay since you never came back to lunch."

"Yea, I'm okay thanks." Paige replied, grateful that she didn't inquire as to why she lied.

"Okay, see you later then!" Kayleigh said and waved and she walked down the hall to her next class.

_Ok, it's somewhat short, but the next chapter should be longer. While I was typing this I got another idea so hopefully it'll get better!_


	6. Friday

**_Okay, here's the next chapter. I think I'll just upload it today along with the previous chapter because I don't know when I'll get another chance and I want to keep writing, without thinking about how I have to type this up first lol. Ooh and there may be a tiny bit of foreshadowing in this chapter. Well, there is sort of, but I don't know if you'll catch it. Enjoy! Please review if you like it!_**

Tuesday afternoon was the first time Paige and Spinner had a chance to talk. She was talking and laughing with JT after school as Spinner and Marco walked around the corner.

"I gotta go." JT said.

"Okay, see you tomorrow JT!" Paige said.

"Spinner!" she called.

"See you tomorrow Marco." He said as he walked towards Paige.

"Hey." He said, as he got closer.

"Spin, I'm so sorry about Friday night. I don't know what happened."

"It's okay. I was angry that you didn't return my calls, but I'll forgive you honeybee."

"Thanks. So what are you doing today?" Paige asked.

"I've gotta work. But how about we go to the movies on Friday night?"

"Okay, sounds good."

He leaned over, kissed her, and said "I'll talk to you later."

Friday morning Paige woke up in a great mood. No one was angry at her for lying, Spinner wasn't upset, and thing could be normal again. But the more she thought, the worse she felt. All through homeroom and her first three classes, she half paid attention to the teachers and her friends. She felt like everything was spinning. At lunch she wasn't hungry and didn't feel like putting on a cheerful façade for her friends. So, she decided to go to the library instead and get started on some homework. She regretted her decision for a minute when she saw Kayleigh and Craig working on a project because she really wasn't in the mood to talk. She thought they might not notice her and even if they did, they'd probably be too busy to talk.

"Paige, what are you doing here?" Kayleigh asked, "I mean from what I've heard, skipping lunch to do work doesn't sound like something you'd normally do."

'Oh well, so much for them not noticing me!' Paige thought to herself. "Yea, well I just have a lot of homework today." She said simply.

"But you have the whole weekend." Craig said, jumping in to the conversation.

"I want to have fun this weekend, not sit around doing work. Anyway, what are you guys working on?"

"Our media immersion project." Craig said, "Have you started yours yet?"

"Not really." She confessed.

"Have you picked a topic?" Kayleigh asked.

"Um...yea, it's...well, since we had to pick a problem teenagers face, I picked eating disorders. It might sound lame, but there's a lot of information out there and it affects lots of teenagers, even some boys." She said, surprising even herself with the idea. "What about you guys?"

Kayleigh said, "We're doing teens and depression."

Craig nodded and added, "We're trying to research whether anti-depressants help and what drives people to commit suicide. And what are some signs to look for and some main causes of depression."

"Wow, sounds pretty intense," Paige said, "But it's a great idea, I'm sure you guys will get an 'A'."

"Your idea is good too Paige. Kayleigh said.

"Eh, it's ok." I've gotta go, I have to stop at my locker before class. See you later."

Paige hurriedly left the library.

In her next class, which was English, she sat next to Ashley. As soon as Paige walked in the door Ashley started talking.

"Where were you at lunch?" she asked.

"I went to the library."

Ashley gave her a puzzled look.

"Whatever, I had a lot of homework and I have a date tonight, which I don't want to be ruined by the thoughts of a book report I'll have to do the next day!"

The bell rang and Ms. Kwan began class. "Okay, everyone take out your _Catcher in the Rye _books." "Now, in this chapter, what does Holden's brother's red hat symbolize?"

Paige tuned out the lesson for a while and started thinking about her date with Spinner that night. The more she thought about it, the less she wanted to go. But she didn't know why; it didn't have anything to do with Spinner, she didn't want to break up or anything. But she suddenly wished she hadn't agreed to going earlier in the week. She rested her head in her hands.

"Paige?" Ms. Kwan repeated, "Paige, are you paying any attention?"

"Um...yea."

"Then can you answer my question please." She said firmly.

Paige glanced over at Ashley's paper and took a guess, hoping it was a good one.

"That's right, but try to stay with us for the rest of class."

Some people in the back of the room started to giggle, but Paige shot them a look and they stopped immediately.

'I have to get out of this date tonight,' She thought. 'Spinner's gonna be so disappointed though.'

She worried about it for a few more minutes before she started feeling hot and dizzy. She raised her hand and said, "Ms. Kwan, can I be excused please. I don't feel well."

Ms. Kwan looked at her skeptically at first and then said, "Actually you don't look too well. Ashley please walk to the nurse's office with Paige."

"Sure." Ashley replied.

"Thanks." Paige said once they got there.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Ashley asked.

"Yea, you go back to class. I'll talk to you later."

Since there wasn't much longer left in the school day, she decided to rest on the nurse's cot for the rest of the period and then go to her next class.

On the way to her last class, Spinner came over to her.  
"Ashley said you weren't feeling well in Kwan's class. Are you okay now?"

"Yea, I'm feeling a bit better. But Spinner, I just want to lie down when I get home. Can I take a rain check on our date tonight?"

"Sure, feel better! I'll call tomorrow to see how you're doing."  
"Thanks." She replied.

When she got home later that afternoon, she went to her room, put on some music, and just thought about what went on earlier that day. She eventually fell asleep and didn't wake up until Dylan came in to tell her that dinner was ready.

'I rarely ever nap,' she thought, 'what's wrong with me today?'


	7. Spinning Around The Sun

_Sorry this took me so long, I've been busy with school as usual. So I'll probably keep writing during the week and posting on the weekends, if anyone was interested in knowing that lol. So towards the end of this chapter, you may think you know what's wrong, but it might not be that simple. The title is a song from the _Uptown Girls _soundtrack, which I'm listening to right now and it sorta fits this chapter at certain parts so I decided to use it._

The next morning when Paige woke up, she felt better so she decided to call Spinner, even though he had promised to call her later in the day.

"Hey baby." She said when he answered the phone.

"Hi honey. Feeling better?"

"Yea, much better."

"So do you want to do something later? We can go to that carnival."

"Sure, that's fine." Paige said, disinterestedly.

They worked out the rest of the details and then hung up.

As Paige got ready, styled her hair, and put on some makeup, she started to feel more like her normal confident self. By the time Spinner arrived, she was looking forward to their night out.

As Kayleigh walked into The Dot and glanced around she saw a few familiar faces from school, but not the one she was looking for. She scanned the room once more and spotted Craig at a table in the corner, looking through a book. She headed over, ready to work on their project.

"Hey Craig."

"Oh, Kayleigh, hi."

The waiter approached them as she sat down. He took their orders for burgers and Sprite, and then they started to work.

"Here's a list of some symptoms of depression and anxiety I found online." Kayleigh said as she handed the sheet to Craig.

He started to read from the list, "Loss of energy, decreased appetite, losing interest in normally enjoyable activities, increased sleeping..."

Kayleigh continued, "Difficulty concentrating, restlessness, irritable, feeling sad, anxious, hopeless or worthless."

"Yea, sounds like fun." Craig joked.

Kayleigh smiled weakly, out of politeness and then went back to reading.

At the carnival:

Paige and Spinner got out of his car and walked towards the carnival. They headed straight for 'The Zipper', which was the wildest ride there. You spun around like a ferris wheel while you were sitting in a bucket that was spinning at the same time in a different direction.

After they got off, Spinner looked a bit dizzy.

Paige said, "Aww, are you okay honeybee?" and then turned her head as she giggled.

"Yea, I think that's enough spinning for now though. Let's play a game."

They wandered around for a while more, playing a few games, and sharing a small bag of popcorn and some cotton candy.

"Ooh there's one more thing we have to do before we leave!" Paige exclaimed, pointing ahead of them.

"Paige, the goldfish game?!"

"It'll be fun, come on!"

"Alright, I'll win you a fish."

She kissed him on the cheek and they headed toward the goldfish booth.

The lady at the booth said, "3 balls for $1, just toss one into a bowl and you win a fish."

Spinner took a try and it bounced off the rim of the bowl.

"Alright, I've got it this time."

He took another shot and it ended up nowhere near the bowl.

"You're lucky that you're not the star basketball player!" Paige joked.

His third shot landed right in the bowl.

"Here ya go." The lady said, handing him a goldfish in a bag.

He handed the bag to Paige and she looked at the fish.

"Thanks honey," she said, "I think I'll name him Saige!"

"Saige? Why?"

"It's a combination of our names Spin!" she stated, "I know it's cheesy, but it's cute."

"Oh...okay." Spinner said, thinking it was sweet, but almost creepy.

Paige had regretted what she said. She meant it as a cute joke, but he didn't seem to take it that way.

'Oh well,' she though, 'Nothing can ruin my great mood tonight. I'm glad I decided to come.'

On the way back to Spinner's car, a bright yellow car caught Paige's eye. 'Dean!' was the first thought that entered her mind. She took a breath and decided she was overreacting. The she saw him get out of the car, and she gasped.

"What happened?" Spinner asked.

"Take me home!"

"Wha-?"

"Now! Take me home.....now Spin......please." She whispered.

"Okay, come on."

Once they were in the car and heading home, she told him what had happened.

"So do you wanna skip The Dot?" he asked.

"No, actually, it's okay, let's go there and get a burger."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" she snapped, "Let's just stop at my house to put Saige in a bowl."

After stopping home they headed to The Dot. As soon as they walked in they saw Craig and Kayleigh. Craig waved them over. A waiter came to take their order.

"I'll be right back." Kayleigh said, standing up, "I'm just going to the washroom."

"I'll come too." Paige said, also getting up.

As she looked in the mirror Paige sighed as she fixed her hair.

"Paige, are you sure you're okay? You've been acting kinda weird lately."

"How would you know?" Paige shot back, "You've only known me for like a week!"

"Sorry, it's just that...well for our project on depression and anxiety...you seemed to have some of

the symptoms."

Paige looked shocked, "Who are you to say what's wrong with me?" she shouted, "Mind your own business!"

Kayleigh was taken aback and just stayed quiet until Paige broke the silence, "I'm sorry, she began, "I didn't mean to get all defensive. It's just that I wouldn't want rumors like that spread about me. Besides, I'm so happy, what do I have to be depressed over?"

"Sorry," Kayleigh replied, "You're right. You know how people get after reading symptoms of things. I mean, I could diagnose just about everything with something that's completely untrue, like hoof and mouth disease!" she joked.

Both girls laughed and headed back to the table.


	8. Nighttime Realizations

_Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated! I've had this chapter written for quite a while and I never typed it because I wasn't even sure if I liked it, so I finally got around to typing it. Thanks to StorytellerD for the encouraging words, which made me take action and not just say everyday "Oh yea, I'm gonna type that one day…and start writing another chapter…" I don't know exactly where I'm going from here; I think I'll have to re-read what I've written and I'll decide from there, but I do know the basic ideas so hopefully I'll have another chapter soon! Please read and review if you like it! _:)

The rest of the night went well for all of them. Craig and Kayleigh decided they had done enough work for one day, and they all ended up at Craig's house for a while. They watched TV and talked until it was nearly 11pm, which is when Kayleigh had to be home. Spinner dropped her off and then drove Paige home. She kissed him and then walked up to her doorstep and rang the bell. No one answered so she dug through her purse to find her keys. When she got inside, she found that only her mom was awake, but she had been upstairs in bed reading and didn't hear the bell.

When Paige finally got to bed, she was restless and couldn't fall asleep. She eventually decided to listen to music and write in her journal.

_Dear Diary, _

_Things haven't been great lately. I do a good job of pretending that they are of course. But I'm sick of pretending. What happened to me? I went from being the most popular girl in the grade to just kind of being there. Of course, everyone still thought I was popular and feared my harsh words, but it isn't like it was before…before Dean raped me. Everything changed that night and even though I'm somewhat over it, it's still in the back of my mind, ready to haunt me when I least expect it. I can't help thinking about what Kayleigh said earlier, about the symptoms of anxiety and depression. I don't feel depressed, just weird. Things with Spinner haven't been too good lately. We both pretend like there's no problem, but in the past few weeks something has changed. Are things really so bad that I can show symptoms of mental illness? Hello?! I guess I had fun tonight though. Anyway, I think I'm tired enough to fall asleep now. Good night! _

_Love, Paige_

Kayleigh walked in her front door to find her mom sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hi Kay, how did the project go?"

"Pretty good. Then we met Paige and Spinner and went back to Craig's house for a while."

"Oh, that sounds good hun. I'm glad you found friends here so quickly. I told you the move could be good!"

"Yea," Kayleigh said, half-smiling, "Where is everyone else?"

"They're sleeping. I'm going up now too, I was just waiting for you to get home."

"Okay, I'm gonna go to bed too. Good night, love you."

"Good night," her mom replied, "Love you too."

Kayleigh sat on the edge of her bed and looked in her full-length mirror. She thought about her life before she moved to Toronto. She was happy there and she had some friends, but she never had a boyfriend or even a true friend. When Kayleigh first met Paige she was hoping that she would be a true friend, and maybe she'd even find a boyfriend this year. But since then she had heard many things about Paige that seemed to say that she shouldn't trust her. As she tried to fall asleep her thoughts wandered back to Craig. She was glad they had been paired up for the project. Of course, she had heard about what happened with him, Ashley, and Manny last year, but people can change. Besides, she wasn't sating him, they were just doing a project together and would hopefully remain friends after that. And at least no one at Degrassi knew her secret. Not that anyone at her old school really knew either, but they did wonder why she had been missing class a lot. Not that it was something she should even have to keep secret, but she was embarrassed about it.

Spinner sighed as he opened the door to his room, kicked off his sneakers, and flopped on to his bed. He switched the TV on and started to flip through the channels. He thought about how weird Paige had been acting this week. 'But things seemed a little better tonight,' he thought, 'By Monday everything will be fine again.'

Craig thought about Kayleigh as he was getting ready for bed that night. He was happy that they were working together and he got the chance to know her. She was knew, so he figured she didn't know what went on last year, and even if she had heard, hopefully she wouldn't judge him based on that.

_Okay, so some parts seem a little too predictable about what will happen next, but hopefully I'll put some kind of twist in there, because I don't want it to be too predictable! _


	9. Presentation Anxiety

_**Author's Note: I know it's been ages since I last updated this story. I got busy with school and stuff and I pretty much gave up on it. I wrote three Desperate Housewives fanfictions since I last updated this, so if you like that show, maybe you want to read those. So tonight I was trying to think of something to write and I remembered this abandoned story. Once before I'd tried to write another chapter and got stuck, but this time it seemed to flow more naturally. So, here's the next chapter. And I plan to keep updating and finish this story! Please review with any comments, good or bad! I hope you enjoy it!**_

Two weeks had passed since that night out, and it was now time for them to share the Power Point presentation part of their projects in front of their media immersion class. Kayleigh and Craig went first.

"For our topic we chose depression in teenagers," Kayleigh began, "And what causes some teens to commit suicide."

"We found that many teenagers feel that they have to much stress in their lives. Stress can also trigger panic attacks, and if they occur often it becomes an anxiety disorder." Craig added.

Kayleigh picked up, "Both anxiety and depression can be treated with antidepressants. They can only help balance the chemicals in your brain and possibly reduce symptoms, but not cure you. Therapy is usually needed to discover the real problem and begin to fix it."

"Also, these medications can have negative side effects and studies have found that they are sometimes linked to teen suicides."

They provided a few more facts, discussed some symptoms, and rattled off statistics, before showing images of a chemically imbalanced brain compared to a normal one.

"Anxiety and depression are sometimes linked, but not always. So if someone is feeling many of these symptoms, they should tell someone they trust, and go to a school counselor or someone like that to get help." Kayleigh concluded.

"Great job guys!" Mr. Simpson commented, "I'll read the written report of your project, but if it's near as good as this presentation, you'll definitely receive an 'A.' Great teamwork too."

Kayleigh and Craig smiled and took their seats.

"Okay, next. How about Jimmy and Hazel?"

As they presented their project on teenage binge drinking, Paige felt her heart begin to race and her arms were shaky and numb. She had a big knot in the pit of her stomach. She'd been listening intently when Craig and Kayleigh were presenting their project, but now she couldn't concentrate on the presentation in front of her. She didn't know why she was so nervous.

'I did the research. I know my topic. This should be easy!' she thought to herself.

A few minutes later she heard Mr. Simpson say, "Next up is Paige."

She took a deep breath and walked to the front of the room.

"Um…my topic is eating disorders. The people most commonly affected by this are teenage girls, but guys can also develop an eating disorder."

She paused, and then continued, "The most commonly known ones are anorexia a-and bulimia, but overeating is… also a problem." Paige said hesitantly.

After that she seemed to relax and the rest of the presentation went more smoothly. Usually confident with herself, this time she looked to Mr. Simpson for approval when she had finished.

"Good job Paige!" he said.

She hurriedly walked back to her seat with her head down, instead of her normal chin-up slow stride. She sighed once she sat down.

"Paige, I've never seen you so nervous over a presentation." Hazel commented, "What happened?"

"Nothing! I'm not-I wasn't nervous." Paige insisted.

"Okay." Hazel replied, knowing that Paige was lying, but now wasn't the time to talk. She turned her attention back to the front of the room where Ellie was about to start her presentation on sexual orientation.

Paige timidly raised her hand, "Mr. Simpson, may I be excused?" she blurted out before waiting for him to look in her direction.

"Yes." He answered.

Paige walked quickly down the hallway to the girls' washroom, past a group of grade 10 girls by the sinks, and into one of the stalls. She knelt in front of the toilet and threw up. After flushing the toilet, she stood up slowly and leaned against the stall door, tears spilling down her cheeks. 'What's happening? What's wrong with me?' was all she could think. She was so involved in her thoughts that she didn't hear the whispers of the grade 10 girls.

"Oh my gosh! Did you see that?" one of them asked.

Her friends replied, "Wasn't that Paige Michalchuk vomiting?"

The third girl questioned, "Do you think she did it on purpose?"

"Of course she did. I knew she had an eating disorder." The first girl answered.

Meanwhile, Paige had managed to stop crying. As she emerged from the stall, she wiped her eyes, and glanced in the mirror to make sure no one could tell she'd been crying. The grade 10 girls stopped whispering and stared at her,

"What is your problem?" she snapped, "Take a picture it lasts longer!"

Paige walked out of the washroom and popped a mint in her mouth as she walked back into the classroom. Five minutes later the bell rang and she walked out with Craig and Kayleigh.

"Great job with the project guys; you really deserve a good grade with all the work you did!" Paige complimented.

"Thanks. It was cool working on it together." Craig replied.

"Yea, it was." Kayleigh agreed.

She looked at Paige and knew something was wrong. Kayleigh was always very good at seeing peoples' feelings. She didn't say anything though, for fear Paige would just snap at her. Kayleigh knew Paige put up a tough front to hide her emotions. Kayleigh knew that all too well; she put on a happy front to hide her own.

'Maybe Paige and I aren't so different after all.' She thought.

"So, Kay, to celebrate our great presentation, wanna go to The Dot after school for shakes?"

"Sure!" Kayleigh exclaimed, sounding more excited than she wanted to.

"You can come too if you want." Craig said to Paige. Kayleigh nodded.

"No thanks." She replied simply.


	10. Rumors

_Author's Note: I know no one reviewed the last chapter but I said I'd continue this story until the end so I think I will. This is kind of a short chapter, a transition chapter or something, not sure what to call it, but nothing big happens except for at the end. It's just to set up the next few chapters. I think there are only a few chapters left in this story. This chapter mostly deals with Paige and Spinner, but we'll get back to Craig and Kayleigh in the next chapter. What else should I say? Oh yea, I tried to do something with an issue that they haven't dealt with too much on Degrassi. It's not eating disorders, even though that's mentioned. It started out being anxiety, but I think depression is in there too. I think this story started off good and now I'm not too sure what I think of it, but I'll finish it in a few chapters and I guess I'll see how I like it when it's complete. Hopefully someone else will like it! Oh, and I don't own any of the characters or the school or the mention of the TV show 'The OC.' So, read and review. I hope you enjoy!_

The next morning as Paige got ready for school she reassured herself that what happened yesterday in media immersion was a one time thing and today she'd be fine. Unfortunately for her, that hope was dashed a few minutes after walking through the doors of Degrassi Community School. She headed to her locker to grab some books before it was time to meet Hazel and walk to homeroom. As she glanced in her locker mirror she could see a group of girls across the hall looking at her and whispering.

'Ugh, the grade 10s are so immature and so obviously jealous of me.' she thought.

"Hey Hazel!" she greeted her best friend, who had her back turned.

"Oh, hi Paige," she replied, glancing up from her conversation with Kayleigh.

"Hi!" Kayleigh chirped in.

"Hey Kay," she said, less enthusiastically, "We're gonna be late if we don't go now."

"Yea, let's go." Kayleigh agreed.

The three girls headed to homeroom and became increasingly aware of the stares and whispers from their peers.

"Okay, what is with everyone today?" Paige asked with an attitude.

As they approached their homeroom they heard the usual chatter, but when they walked in it suddenly got quiet. The silence didn't last long before the talking began again. Ashley walked over to them.

"Have you heard what they're saying about you Paige?" she asked, and then answered her own question without giving Paige a chance, "They said you have an eating disorder because someone heard you vomit in the washroom."

"Who's saying that?" she questioned.

"Everyone; it's the biggest gossip in the halls."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better about it!" she retorted sarcastically.

"It's not true, is it?" Ashley asked cautiously.

"No! Of course not!" she defended, "I don't know who started the rumor, but it's a total lie."

The bell rang and the girls took their seats. For the rest of the day Paige could feel everyone's eyes on her as she walked down a hallway or into a classroom. By the end of the day she was so tired of it, she couldn't wait to get home and away from the whispers.

The next morning she pretended to be sick and fooled her mom into letting her stay home. The truth was that she just couldn't deal with another day of what she'd gone through the day before.

The day after that she realized that she had to face reality and go back to school. Unfortunately, that day was only slightly better than the other day. There were still whispers and stares, only fueled by the fact that she'd missed school the day before. Some people had forgotten about it during her one-day absence, which she was thankful for. Spinner met her at her locker after their last class and they walked back to her house together. When they got inside Paige flipped on the TV and flopped onto the couch. Spinner sat down next to her as they watched 'The OC.' Spinner put his arm around Paige and tried to cuddle.

"Spin!" she exclaimed, "It's too hot for you to hang on me today. Let's just do our homework."

"Fine." He said, annoyed, and then muttered under his breath, "It's not my fault you're no fun anymore."

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

"I heard that!" she shot back, "What's your problem lately?"

"My problem?" he asked, his voice rising, "You're the problem!"

She stormed into the kitchen and he followed.

"You know, I learned from your project that people with an eating disorder might be cranky due to hunger." Spinner said.

"You don't actually believe the rumors, do you?"

" I don't know what to think anymore Paige! You're acting different; you're always tired and snappy, you don't want to go out anymore, you stayed home from school yesterday, and we rarely kiss anymore!" he blurted out.

"Just go home. I'm so sick of this!" Paige shouted.

"Well I'm sick of us!"

"Maybe we should break up then!"

"Maybe we should!"

"Fine with me!"

"Fine!"

Spinner grabbed his bag and left, leaving Paige alone in the kitchen. She put her head down on the counter and sighed.


End file.
